The End
by starzee
Summary: Damon does something heroic to save them all but Stefan can't accept the consequences. Damon only wanted his brother to be safe...
1. Chapter 1

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

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><p><strong>This is a one shot unless anyone would like me to continue it.<strong>

The End

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><p>Damon was through with all of them. He'd had it. He <em>hated<em> Mystic Falls and he vowed to never return. He'd made a lot of vows to himself in the last five minutes. He was packing up his stuff. He found it to be kind of inconvenient that the troop were _all_ in the boarding house just as he was leaving, but whatever, he hated them all too so he didn't care. He'd promised his brother that he'd help with the killing of Klaus and although he'd been saving the potion for a century and a half, he didn't think there would be a better person to use it for, so behind Stefan's back, he'd found Klaus and brought him to Mystic Falls – under false pretences of course. He was actually outside in Damon's car. If he wasn't trying to kill them all, Damon was pretty sure he would have really hit it off with the Original – but whatever, he wasn't going to dwell on it. Klaus had to die, he was willing to kill him – win-win.

Damon took one last look around his bare room, hoping he would never be there again. He just couldn't take it anymore. He got out the potion and drank it down without hesitation. He had half an hour to fulfil his task. The potion made him _completely_ all powerful and unable to be killed for half an hour. He'd often wondered how he would use the potion but he was fed up with wondering. He just wanted it to be over already. He would want to leave and Stefan would brood, Elena would guilt and honestly, if they thought it would work they'd see a different side to Damon. He picked up his bags and left his room without another thought. He knew the potion would work. Emily was a lot of things but he just _knew_ it would work. He got down to the bottom of the stairs and everyone turned to look at him. He ignored them while he dropped his bags then went into the kitchen. Everyone was there. Stefan, Alaric, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Jeremy, Katherine and even Elijah. He did _not_ understand why the wolf was there but he simply didn't give a shit. He was shocked that Elijah and Katherine were both there. In the same room. That kind of worked out for Damon though, he smirked of course. He came back out a moment later and set the plate he'd taken from the kitchen down on his alcohol cart. Elijah was leaning casually against a nearby wall and they all watched him confused. Why the hell did Damon have a plate?

"What's with the bags?" Katherine asked him curiously and he shrugged as he opened his liquor cabinet. He had a few bottles in there he wanted to take with him.

"Leaving." Damon replied in a bored tone and he wanted to laugh when he actually heard _gasps_.

"What?" Stefan asked in disbelief. "What do you mean you're leaving?" He asked shocked and Damon didn't stop taking his bottles out of the cabinet and putting them in his travel bag. It's not like anyone _there_ would appreciate them. Maybe Ric. He didn't exactly _hate_ the teacher.

"It's that thing where you take your belongings and move. I'm sure you've done it before, Stefan." Damon said amused.

"But... why?" Stefan asked shocked. Damon zipped his bag closed then put it down with the others and turned to look at his brother and leaned casually against the wall with an amused smirk.

"Well, simply put, I chose a different side." Damon replied and all of their jaws dropped. "Mine." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elena asked with attitude.

"It _means_ that I'm not getting myself killed for you, Elena." He smirked.

"So you're going to be selfish and run away." Elena said to him disgusted and Damon _laughed_.

"Selfish?" He laughed. "That's _rich_ coming from you." Damon said amused and she looked like she'd been slapped. "If you had any decency, you would have killed yourself as soon as you learned about the curse. It can't be broken _without_ you. Katherine might be a total bitch, but she at least ensured the curse couldn't be broken for another 500 years by turning herself." Damon said and they all gaped at him. Katherine looked oddly flattered. "So, Elena, you only want me to stay to help protect you and possibly die doing so. Stefan only wants me to stay to protect you or die trying. The rest of you just want me there to die instead of one of you. So why the hell _should_ I?" He asked amused. Nobody replied. "There is absolutely _nothing_ in it for me. So I'm leaving." He said.

"That's not the reason I don't want you to leave." Stefan said sincerely and Damon shrugged.

"I'm going anyway, regardless." Damon replied in a bored tone. "But, since _unfortunately_ I still love you, Stefan, I will do something for you. But it's for _you_ and nobody else." He replied and Stefan looked shocked that Damon just told him he loved him. Damon turned his head to the door. Elijah was watching in amusement. He figured the second Damon took a step out the door, he was no longer included in the deal so he could kill him and he would. "You can come in now." Damon called to the door and they all looked confused. Damon felt different. He could feel the _power_ pulsating through him and he was kind of disappointed that it would only last a short while longer. The door opened and in sauntered the blonde. Elijah's jaw dropped. Katherine positively _paled_.

"Well, hello, everyone." The man smiled cheekily. Damon smirked at him amused.

"Oh, God." Katherine gasped.

"That's not his name, Katherine." Damon said amused by her reaction. The others looked _terrified_ considering if _Katherine_ was afraid... it could only be one person.

"Hello, Elijah. It's been centuries." He said.

"Not long enough, Klaus." Elijah said and the others were staring at Damon in shock. What did Damon _do_? "Why are you here?" He asked. Klaus grinned at them all then slung his arm over Damon's shoulders.

"I made a friend." Klaus said and Damon scowled at him.

"What did I say about the touching?" Damon snapped at him annoyed and Klaus rolled his eyes then took his arm back. Katherine was kind of a little bit in _awe_ of Damon considering he wasn't remotely afraid of Klaus and he'd _snapped_ at him.

"You made friends with Klaus?" Elijah asked Damon shocked.

"Yes." Klaus grinned. Damon was looking at them all amused. He turned towards Klaus then with a devious smirk and Klaus watched him curiously.

"Yeah... about that..." Damon trailed off then faster than Klaus could track, Damon's hand was in his chest and he pulled. "I lied." The pure _shock_ was evident on Klaus' face as Damon's hand came back out with his heart. Klaus greyed and fell on the ground. Everyone else was wide eyed with shock. Damon walked casually over to his drinks cart and put Klaus' bloody heart on the little plate he'd taken from the kitchen. He picked up the plate and went over to Stefan and handed him it. "I promised you his heart on a plate." Damon chuckled and Stefan was trying not to crack up into laughter at how _ridiculous_ his brother was because he had no idea how Damon even killed Klaus and he was so shocked.

"How? How did you do that?" Elijah asked in disbelief. Damon turned around and shrugged.

"What's it to you?" Damon asked him amused then cocked his head to the side. "Though, I think some payback is in order for the pencil incident." Damon said then before Elijah could respond, his heart was in Damon's hand. "That'll look nice next to your brother's." Damon said amused then went back to Stefan and put Elijah's heart next to Klaus' on the plate Stefan was still holding because he was too shocked to do anything else.

"How?" Katherine screeched at him in disbelief. Damon _had _planned to leave right after that but of course she had to get his attention with her annoying presence. Damon casually strode up to her. He was enjoying this power a little too much. He was sure he would regret this later upon reflection but whatever, he wasn't going to dwell. Damon stood in front of her then reached out with his clean left hand and stroked her cheek softly. He was kind of surprised when she leaned into his touch but he didn't let him affect him.

"You're free now." Damon said to her with a small smile and she actually smiled back genuinely. "How does it feel to be free?" He asked her curiously.

"Incredible." She replied honestly and he smirked.

"Is that so?" He asked amused.

"You know, you should take me with you. Then I can thank you properly." Katherine said deviously and Damon chuckled.

"Tempting." He smirked. "But the problem with that little idea..." He said softly. "I'm over you." He said amused then stuck his hand in her chest and she gasped wide eyed. "Poetic, don't you think?" He asked then pulled his hand back out with her heart. "Wow. You really do have a heart. Did _not_ see that coming." He said amused then she greyed and fell on the floor. Damon walked back over to Stefan and put Katherine's heart on the plate. "Well, Stef, now you really do have her heart." He said amused and Stefan stared at him in disbelief. Damon sauntered down to the hall, stepped over Klaus and went into the bathroom and washed the blood from his hands. He dried his hands on the towel then went back out into the hall and picked up his bags and slung them over his shoulder. "Ciao." He smirked then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Stefan yelled and Damon turned to look at him.

"What?" Damon asked curiously. He saw that everyone in the room was staring at him fearfully.

"You just killed Klaus, Elijah and Katherine by yourself and you're just going to _leave_?" Stefan asked in disbelief and Damon shrugged.

"Yeah, why not?" Damon asked in a bored tone.

"Can you please tell me how you did that?" Stefan asked him and Damon sighed.

"Emily made a potion that makes whoever drinks it invincible for like half an hour." Damon shrugged and they all looked stunned.

"Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" Stefan asked him confused.

"Why does it matter? They're dead. Problem solved. Tada." Damon quipped.

"Damon." Stefan said annoyed.

"Because you would have wanted to do it instead." Damon replied and they all looked stunned. "But you have a life and I didn't want you to have to face the consequences." Damon said sincerely and Stefan froze.

"What consequences?" Stefan asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry about it, Stef." Damon smirked. "Just... enjoy your life. Don't brood so much." Damon said and Stefan looked seriously worried.

"You sound like you're saying goodbye." Stefan said worriedly and Damon smiled at his brother sadly.

"That's because after today you'll never see me again." Damon replied and Stefan looked pained while they others looked stunned.

"What? Why? It's supposed to be an eternity of misery." Stefan said panicked and Damon chuckled.

"I'm letting you off the hook, Stef." Damon smirked.

"Damon, please, what are the consequences?" Stefan asked him and Damon sighed.

"A year." Damon replied.

"A year of what?" Stefan asked confused and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Judgy will just _love_ this." Damon smirked. "Exactly one year from when I drank the potion, I'll drop dead." Damon said and everyone's jaws dropped. "_So_, since I'm selfish like Elena said, I'm going to spend it getting drunk, getting laid and killing everything in sight and as far away from all of you as possible. The teacher's the only one of you I like anyway." He said and Alaric looked surprised and Damon was shocked that he actually looked sad. "Well, maybe Blondie too since she's _majorly_ hot and I'm used to her chatter now." He smirked at Caroline who looked shocked that Damon would say that about her. "Anyway, I'm off." Damon saluted them then walked right out the door. Tears streaked Stefan's cheeks then he sped after him out the door and pinned him to his car. "What are you _doing_?" Damon asked him annoyed.

"You can't go." Stefan pleaded, the tears streaming down his face. This was _exactly_ why Damon didn't want Stefan there when he left.

"Yeah, I can and I will." Damon said pushing him off. He opened the trunk and threw his bags in then closed it.

"Please, Damon. You can't die!" Stefan pleaded as he sobbed and Damon rolled his eyes.

"I was supposed to die a century and a half ago, Stefan. At least this time it was my choice to die, instead of being shot by our snivelling moron of a father." Damon said.

"Damon, please. Please stay. We'll find a way to save you." Stefan begged as tears blinded him and it just pissed Damon off so he snapped.

"Why?" Damon asked him annoyed. "What do you possibly care?" He snapped. "You've wanted me gone since the second I showed up here. Now you're getting what you wanted and you want me to stay? What the fuck for, Stefan? Why the hell should I stay here and just be hated? You _hate_ me, Stefan! Dying will be a relief! I won't have to live with your hatred and disappointment anymore. I won't have to spend an eternity alone anymore. You think I wished you an eternity of misery because I hated you but that's not why." Damon glared at him and Stefan was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Then why?" Stefan asked in a small voice.

"Because you were the only person I ever trusted. The only person I ever loved unconditionally. And you _betrayed_ me." Damon said and Stefan could hear the hurt in his tone. Stefan felt like he'd had his heart ripped out. "But it doesn't matter anymore. I refuse to spend my last year on earth being hurt. Regardless of how you feel about me, I will always love you and I _do_ want you to be happy. You deserve better than Katherine 2.0 but you'll see that eventually. So, just let it go, Stefan. Just move on with your life and forget all about your evil older brother who made your life miserable because soon enough, I'll be dead and you won't ever have to worry about me screwing up your life ever again." Damon said then he brushed past Stefan and jumped in his car and Stefan slumped to his knees as he watched Damon's car drive away... then he cried his heart out.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

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><p>The End<p>

Chapter 2

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><p>After Damon left, all hell broke loose. Elena, Bonnie, Tyler, Ric, Jeremy were all arguing. Caroline could hear Stefan sobbing on the driveway. She just knew she had to fix this, she couldn't let Damon die. She slipped out of the side entrance to the house and ran as fast as she could to Bonnie's house. She climbed in the window and found Emily's spell book. She flipped through it as fast as she could until she found the page with the spell. She read all of it then saw a small note at the bottom.<p>

_The only way to counteract this spell is if the vampire who drinks it spills no innocent blood for the full year. The vampire must only feed on the worst of humanity then his redemption will be complete._

Caroline tore the page out of the Grimoire knowing Bonnie was going to give her _hell _for this. She figured with her vampire speed she could catch up with Damon so she raced out of the house and she ran as fast as she could on the only road out of Mystic Falls. About fifteen minutes later, she could see Damon's car in the distance. It was the middle of nowhere and there were no cars around so she upped her speed and jumped into the passenger seat while it was still moving. Damon sighed in annoyance.

"What are you doing?" He asked annoyed.

"Give me five minutes and if you still want me to, I'll leave you alone." She said to him softly. Damon glanced at her expression and saw her wide baby blue eyes staring at him pleadingly. He rolled his eyes then pulled over at the side of the road.

"Fine, what is it?" He asked her cocking an eyebrow.

"After you left, I ran to Bonnie's house and I found the spell." She said then pulled out the page with spell from her pocket and gave it to him. His jaw dropped that she'd _ripped a page out_ of a highly powerful witch's Grimoire for _him_. He knew Bonnie was going to go _nuts_.

"She'll go mental." He said to her motioning to it.

"Yeah, yeah. I have four minutes and thirty seconds left. I'm not arguing with you over Bonnie." She said dryly and he chuckled. "Read the bottom." She said to him and he sighed then read the counteraction.

"What's your point?" He asked her seriously and she took a deep breath – she couldn't believe she was about to _say _this to _him _of all people.

"Let me finish before you say no." She said to him.

"Fine." He replied.

"I don't want you to die." She said softly and he was kind of taken aback by how much she meant that. "I might not matter to you in the grand scheme of things but _I_ love_ you_." She said and he blinked rapidly in shock. "The thought that you won't exist out there somewhere makes me feel like the walls are caving in on me." She said unable to meet his eyes and Damon was kind of sure he was in an alternate reality. He'd had _no idea _that she felt _anything _for him. "So, _please _don't just accept this. I genuinely don't give a crap if you never see me as anything more than that annoying blonde from Mystic Falls, but you have to _live, _Damon. I heard what you said to Stefan. I could be your friend. You wouldn't have to spend an eternity alone. I'd never break your trust or betray you. I'll do anything you want. I'll hunt down awful humans for you to feed from, I'll keep Stefan away from you if you want that, I'll tell the others you died if you want them to think that, but there can't be a world without you in it. There just _can't_." She said to him as her eyes watered and Damon was fighting his own tears because of everything she said.

"How can you think all of that after everything I did?" He asked her and she heard that he was kind of emotional because his tone betrayed that.

"When I was human, you told me about your dad. You told me about Stefan. You told me about Katherine." She said and Damon looked surprised. He'd forgotten all about that. "I know what it's like to be invisible to a parent. I know what it's like to never be good enough for anything. To try so hard and always fail. To never be loved for who you are because people always expect you to change. But the difference is that yours were like on an epic scale. I've done plenty of awful things to people because I was taking out _my _hurt on them. You had your emotions off when we met so I don't care about that anymore." She said honestly. "You need to let yourself off the hook." She said softly and he sighed. He wasn't used to people being so blunt with him like this but he gathered that she was doing that so he would listen to her. "So my proposal is this: start fresh." She said to him seriously. "Start like today is day one. Nothing before right now happened. None of it. You don't have to be ruled by the past." She said and he thought about that. It did sound kind of nice... but so much had happened...

"But Caroline..." He started.

"Just do it, Damon. I'll make you a deal. Do it. Do what the spell says will stop it... then... if you still want to die in a year, I'll stake you myself. I swear." She said to him seriously and he looked surprised. "But at least give yourself the option." She said. "Please." She pleaded and he was kind of melting at how much the little blonde cared about him.

"Okay." He said and she looked surprised.

"Really?" She grinned at him and he chuckled.

"But I'm not listening to Taylor Swift _ever again_." He warned her amused and she laughed.

"I'm over that anyway." She said and he smirked.

"Good." He agreed. She got her phone out then which surprised him. "What are you doing?" He asked her.

"Checking something. Don't talk." She said holding the phone to her ear and he cocked an eyebrow at that.

"_Hey, where'd you go?_" Bonnie answered.

"Over to Ric's to look at Isobel's research." She lied and Damon looked at her confused for her lie.

"_Find anything?_" She asked curiously.

"Maybe but I just have a witchy question." Caroline said.

"_Okay._" Bonnie said.

"What is a witch's definition of a non-innocent human, ie. The worst of humanity?" Caroline asked and Damon finally understood why Caroline called Bonnie.

"_Well, that would be a human who took another human's life in cold blood, a human who forced themselves on another human sexually and a human who mentally or physically tortured another human for enjoyment purposes._" Bonnie said and Caroline thought about that.

"Okay. And what would be a witch's definition of spilling innocent blood?" Caroline asked. "Are we talking death or _literally _spilling a drop of innocent blood?" She asked.

"_Literally a drop._" Bonnie said and Caroline rolled her eyes. Damon saw Caroline's expression and knew exactly what she was thinking: witches were so judgemental. That had him kind of amused.

"Would blood bags count as spilling innocent blood?" She asked.

"_Yes. Why are you asking all of this?_" Bonnie asked confused.

"Just because of the research." Caroline lied.

"_Caroline... what kind of research?_" Bonnie asked suspiciously.

"_Caroline's doing research?_" Caroline and Damon heard Ric asked.

"_Yeah, she said she's at your place looking at Isobel's research._" Bonnie said.

"_All of that is at the Gilberts' house._" Ric said confused.

"Crap." Caroline muttered and Damon smirked amused at her getting caught.

"_Caroline! What are you doing?_" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Uh..." Caroline bit her lip.

"_Wait... the worst of humanity... you're looking at my Grimoire!_" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Uh..." Caroline said. "Bonnie, I'm sorry. You're going to be pissed but... Don't fry me. I had good intentions. Gotta go. Bye." Caroline said then hung up. "Crap." She said and Damon chuckled.

"Guess you're coming with me then." He smirked at her and she nodded.

"Yeah, someone's going to have to make sure you only drink from murderers, rapists and torturers." She replied amused and he rolled his eyes amused.

"This is so not how I thought this year was going to go." He smiled as he pulled away from the curb. He started driving again and Caroline was really pleased at getting to go with him.

"Meaning?" She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I can't get laid for a _year_." He pointed out and she looked confused.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because I can't bite anyone." He said and she giggled.

"Conjugal visits at women's prisons." She said and he laughed loudly. "Or I'm sure there are plenty of non-innocent women in the world along with vampires. Don't worry so much." She waved a hand unconcerned and he chuckled.

"How exactly do you expect _me _to not spill any innocent blood for a whole _year_?" He asked her curiously and she thought about it.

"Well, for a start, we could go visit a prison with a compelled doctor and take maybe two pints of blood from _every _non-innocent they have there then you'll have a really large supply of blood. We can compel the prisoners and make sure they _actually _did what they're convicted of so that there are no mistakes." She said thoughtfully and Damon was touched at how much thought she was putting into it all. "Then we could go somewhere that makes you happy so you'll feel no need to get annoyed enough to kill anyone because if it's _literally _a drop then we're going to have to be really careful." She said thinking it over and he smiled a little at that because he was quite sure nobody had _ever_ cared this much about his wellbeing before.

"You don't have any stuff with you." He pointed out and she shrugged.

"I can come back and get my stuff at some point." She shrugged. "I'll compel myself some clothes later." She said and he smirked at her for that.

"And what if someone needs to be killed who would come under the 'innocent' category?" He asked her and she sighed.

"Then _I'll _kill them." She said and Damon looked shocked.

"Why?" He asked stunned.

"You killed Klaus, Elijah and Katherine. Those three would no doubt have caused thousands and thousands of deaths in the future if they hadn't died today. So... it's only a year. After that you can do whatever you want again." She said and he frowned at her total non-answer.

"Okay... so since you have this all thought out, what do you suggest?" He asked her curiously.

"Honestly?" She asked him and he chuckled knowing she thought he wouldn't like her answer.

"Yes." He replied.

"I think you should find like a house in the middle of nowhere and live there for a year. I'll bring you blood, booze and entertainment and you can just wait it out." She said and he chuckled.

"Entertainment?" He asked amused and she chuckled.

"Movies, books, music and hell, I might even round you up a bunch of like... just released from prison horny strippers or something." She smirked at him and he laughed.

"Are you serious?" He asked amused.

"Yes. The _less _trouble you get yourself into, the more chance I have of keeping you alive." She said and he chuckled a little though he couldn't help thinking she was really sweet for caring this much.

"Fine." He said amused. "So somewhere near a Federal prison?" He suggested.

"Mmhmm." She nodded in agreement.

"There are two maximum security prisons in Pennsylvania." He said.

"Cool, I'll look at property listings." She said opening the internet browser on her phone.

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><p>Bonnie hurried into her room and found Emily's Grimoire lying open on her bed and her jaw dropped at the torn out page.<p>

"Anything?" Stefan asked her worriedly.

"She tore out the page!" Bonnie said shocked.

"She _what_?" Stefan asked in disbelief.

"The page that held the spell for the potion he drank... she tore it out." Bonnie said shocked.

"Why?" Stefan asked frantically.

"I'm guessing because the terms of the spell's counteraction are written at the bottom." Bonnie replied.

"So does that mean he can beat the spell? He can survive it?" Stefan asked full of hope.

"If he does exactly what it says, yes." Bonnie replied.

"What does it say?" Stefan asked immediately.

"I don't remember, Stefan." Bonnie admitted apologetically.

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><p>They'd been driving in comfortable silence for over an hour when Caroline grinned.<p>

"Found our house." She said happily and Damon smirked.

"Where is it?" He asked.

"Forty Fort." She said and he chuckled at the silly name.

"What's so good about it?" He asked.

"Well, it's huge for one, it's concealed, it has a garden, terrace, deck, hot tub, a library, a huge indoor pool area, a tennis court, a four car garage, six bedrooms and an ice cream bar." She grinned and he laughed at the ice cream bar part.

"How much is it?" He asked her sceptically and she shrugged.

"One and a half million dollars." She replied and he looked at her confused.

"Are you joking? Is this one of those ridiculous mansions?" He asked her and she grinned.

"Yep. But it'll keep you occupied." She replied and he chuckled. "And it's situated practically half way between the two prisons." She said and he smirked at her totally trying to sell him the property.

"Hate to break it to you, but you can't walk into a real estate agency and compel a house like that." He said to her and she smirked at him deviously.

"No, but I _can _use money to buy it." She said.

"You have that kind of money?" He asked amused.

"Mmhmm." She nodded.

"How?" He asked sceptically and she chuckled.

"Because I'm a total thief." She said and he laughed. He so wasn't expecting that answer.

"How so?" He asked amused.

"Well, it is _possible_ that when Katherine was in the tomb I went and snatched her bank details from her hotel room and drained her bank accounts." She said and his jaw dropped then he laughed loudly. He found that hilariously funny and kind of genius, in all honesty.

"You _did_?" He asked her with a grin.

"I did." She nodded in agreement. "Bitch killed me so I thought a lifetime of shopping with her money would make up for it a little." She said and he laughed.

"That's amazing." He said amused. He never thought the little blonde would ever do something like that.

"So what do you think? Shall we buy ourselves an awesome mansion with Katherine's money?" She grinned and he laughed.

"Definitely." He chuckled.

"Excellent." She smirked then dialled the number for the real estate agency.

"_Sotheby's International Realty, Allan speaking, how may I help you?_" The voice answered.

"Hello Allan, my name is Ms Claudia Merron. Who would I speak to with regards to purchasing the Adrian Pearsall Residence?" She asked and Damon tried not to laugh at her sounding all adult.

"_I can certainly help you with that Ms Merron. Is it a viewing you are interested in?_" He asked.

"I've seen the property previously so a viewing isn't necessary." She said. "Now is 1.5 a fixed price or is the owner looking for an offer?" She asked.

"_It is offers over 1.5 million. To tell you the truth, the owner turned down 1.6 million._" He said and she sighed.

"I can have two million in the owner's bank account by this afternoon, so pass that along and you can let me know what he or she says." She said then told him her number.

"_Certainly, Ms Merron. I'll get in touch with him as soon as we end this call and I'll call you right back._" He said in a little bit of disbelief.

"You do that, Allan. We'll speak soon." She said then hung up and Damon chuckled.

"You know how to get things done, don't you?" He asked amused and she giggled.

"I do." She nodded in agreement.

"Out of curiosity..."

"$27,789,421.16." She cut him off knowing he wanted to know how much money she nabbed from Katherine.

"_Really_?" He asked shocked and amused and she chuckled.

"Mmhmm." She nodded.

"That's so funny." He smirked. "Where'd you get Claudia Merron?" He asked full of curiosity.

"I had an identity and back story made up and compelled a birth certificate, driving license, passport, social security number and high school diploma just in case I ever had to be untraceable." She said and he looked kind of shocked at her being so organised. _He _didn't even have those things. "So my bank accounts with the money are all in that name." She explained.

"How did you know how to do all of that?" He asked curiously.

"Well, Katherine, actually. She had all of those things and I found a number when I was in her room for a guy who can do all of that so I called him then went to see him and he did all of it. I'm even on the National Register under that name, so if it ever gets looked into it looks completely legitimate." She said.

"Where'd you meet the guy?" He asked her.

"New York." She replied. "I have another five identities with different dates of birth in a safety deposit box so I'm totally covered for the next thirty years or so." She said surprising him.

"You're really organised." He said curiously.

"It'll sound lame but I had this dream that it was like twenty years from now and I was going on vacation and the passport control were on vervain so I couldn't compel them to let me pass and I looked too young to be that old and they figured out I was a vampire in the airport and I woke up totally panicking so when I saw Katherine had all that, I couldn't help but plan ahead." She said and he chuckled.

"It's a good idea though. I should probably do something like that." He said and she looked surprised.

"You don't have stuff like that?" She asked in disbelief and he smirked.

"Nope." He replied amused.

"Then how do you get anywhere?" She asked confused and he chuckled.

"Compulsion." He smirked.

"But what about bank accounts and stuff like that?" She asked.

"I just compel them to think they saw my ID when they didn't." He shrugged.

"You don't worry about being caught out?" She asked confused.

"What would they do if they caught me?" He asked her and she realised he had a point.

"Yeah, I guess. But if the founders' council know about vampires, surely the government does too. Isn't it better just to stay under the radar?" She asked him and he looked surprised.

"You make a good point. Can you hook me up with this guy you called then?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'll get that organised." She nodded.

"What does he take for it?" He asked.

"Twenty grand per identity." She replied.

"Is he a vampire?" Damon asked curiously.

"No, he's human but his dad did the same thing before him and taught him about it because it was good money." Caroline replied.

"How do you know he's not working for the government to track vampires?" Damon asked her.

"I don't. But if Katherine used him for it, I'm guessing he doesn't considering _Klaus _couldn't find her so I doubt she'd be sloppy like that." Caroline said and Damon chuckled.

"You're making a lot of sense." He smirked and she giggled. Before she could reply, her phone rang and she saw it was the real estate place.

"Claudia Merron." She answered and Damon smirked.

"_Hello, Ms Merron, it's Allan from Sotheby's._" He said.

"Did he accept?" She asked.

"_He did. Are you able to come into the office today?_" He asked her.

"Absolutely. I do, however, need to move in _today_ so where do I transfer the money?" She asked...


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to **chloevamp**. Hope you like it :)

* * *

><p>The End<p>

Chapter 3

* * *

><p>Damon drove them straight to the real estate place and they arrived there about five hours after leaving Mystic Falls. Caroline signed the papers and by the time she'd arrived at the office, the money had cleared through the rapid bank transfer so there was no issue with moving in straight away. They'd even had the property cleaned and the pool filled and treated so that it was perfect upon entry. She got the keys then Damon drove them to the house. They stepped out of the car and Damon had to admit it was an impressive looking house. Caroline opened the door with her key then they explored the place. They both loved it. Caroline made him pick a bedroom on the opposite side of the house from the one she chose so she wouldn't hear him getting laid which made him laugh a little. She made a couple of calls and ordered fridges for immediate delivery.<p>

"Okay, so I'll be back in a couple of hours. The deliveries will be left on the driveway so once they're gone, if you could cart them in that would be great. You have enough booze to keep you occupied until I get back with more, right?" She asked him and he smirked.

"Yes. I'll stay out of trouble." He said to her amused and she rolled her eyes.

"Car keys." She said holding out her hand and he looked at her amused.

"You're joking, right? You're not driving my car." He said and she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I think you'll find that I am an excellent driver and your _baby _will be back without a scratch, now _keys _please." She said seriously and he smirked at her bossing him around.

"_One _scratch and I will be very annoyed." He warned and she rolled her eyes.

"Stop being difficult. It's just for today then I'll go get myself a car. Getting you non-innocent blood is the priority at the moment." She pointed out and he sighed.

"Fine." He said then handed over his keys to her. Internally she was kind of shocked that he'd caved so quickly. She'd been sure they would argue about the car for at least an hour.

* * *

><p>Caroline was back about two hours later. She'd gone to the prison in Canaan, compelled the inmates' files and handpicked thirty inmates to donate a few pints. She got seventeen mass murderers, four paedophiles and nine serial rapists. She compelled the guards to go get them and take them to the medical area. She compelled a nurse to draw blood from them after she compelled each inmate to see exactly what they'd done – most of them disgusted her because they really were <em>awful<em> people.

Two of them she'd had to send away because one was innocent and another was psychologically damaged and wasn't in his right mind when he committed the crime – she made a note to go and find a way to compel their release because she genuinely thought being imprisoned under those circumstances was wrong. To make things even, she got an extra pint taken from four very large men who obviously had much more blood in them than the others. Since she'd had two pints taken from each apart from the four large men who'd gotten three taken, she had 60 blood bags in a few coolers by the time she left. She figured that would last for a while. She compelled everyone to forget her then she left.

On her way back, she stopped at a shop and filled the trunk with alcohol and snacks. She drove back to the house and carted the coolers inside. She took them into the kitchen where she saw the three fridges she'd bought plugged in so obviously Damon had done that. He appeared while she was emptying the coolers into the fridges. Damon saw that each bag had a name and what they did written on them. Even Damon was appalled at some of the crimes.

"Woah. How much did you get?" He asked surprised.

"60 bags." She replied and he looked surprised.

"That'll last like a whole month." He said knowing she would drink that also and she nodded.

"I'll go to the other prison in the next couple of days and get more since I'll be drinking that too." She said. "The trunk is full of booze." She said handing him his keys then went back to unloading the blood into the fridges and Damon went out to the car and laughed a little considering not _only _was the trunk full, it was full to the _brim_ with booze of all sorts but mostly bourbon. He carried the bottles into the library and filled some of the shelves with the bottles. When Caroline was finished she tracked him down in the library. "I'm going shopping, is there anything you want?" She asked.

"Nah, I don't think so." He said as he thought about it. "What are you buying?" He asked.

"A car, a TV, clothes and whatever else I can think of while I'm out." She said and he smirked at her selection. "Text me if you think of anything." She added then turned on her heel and started to walk out of the room.

"Caroline?" She turned around and looked at him curiously. "Thank you for everything." He said sincerely and she smiled.

"Just don't fuck it up or I'll kick your ass." She said with a little cheeky expression and he chuckled.

"I won't." He said and she gave him a smile and a nod then she left. Damon realised she was obviously running considering he still had his car keys. His mind kept replaying everything she'd said that morning and he honestly couldn't remotely understand how she could care for him so much that she'd do everything she was doing for him. He knew he didn't deserve it but the fact she wanted him around gave him a little hope since nobody had _wanted _him around for a very long time. She was putting so much effort into keeping him alive – he couldn't help feeling kind of fluttery because of it.

* * *

><p>Caroline wasn't back until late. It was nearly 11pm when she finally returned. Damon had been a tiny bit worried about her since she was out alone in a strange area so he was a little relieved when he heard a car pulling up. He wandered out casually, interested in what car she got and he was surprised to see a navy blue 2011 Dodge Charger sitting there. Caroline had the trunk open and he walked up to her and saw the trunk full of shopping bags.<p>

"Sweet car." Damon commented because he really did think so.

"Thanks." She smiled. "Figured I should get something you wouldn't be totally embarrassed to drive if you had to." She teased and he laughed a little. He knew she'd driven a Dodge Caliber in Mystic Falls so he figured she liked the manufacturer.

"What the hell did you buy?" He asked as he helped her with her bags because there was tons of stuff.

"Clothes and house stuff." She shrugged as she carried in the first load of bags. Damon managed to get the rest of the bags then took them inside. Caroline hurried back out to the car and grabbed the TV from the back seat then locked the car and went back in. Damon saw her walk in with the huge TV box under one arm and he chuckled at the sight. "Where do you think the TV would be best?" She asked.

* * *

><p>Damon set up the TV while she put the new coffee machine in the kitchen then took her clothes to her room and unpacked them. She'd bought bed clothes and towels and toiletries for both of them and she gave Damon his stuff then went back into her room and changed into a bikini and wrapped a towel around herself and went to the pool. He intercepted her on her way there.<p>

"What are you doing?" He asked her curiously.

"Going for a swim." She said like it was obvious and he smirked as she sauntered past him and went to where the pool was. Damon was kind of surprised at the fact she wasn't trying to talk his ear off, though he'd noticed she didn't talk much in the car on the drive there either. He gathered that she probably didn't want company since she didn't ask if he wanted to swim too so he went to the library and poured himself a drink then took a seat in front of the fire place and thought about the events of the day. It had been a really long and surprising day. He'd spent the evening exploring the house and the grounds of the property and he had to admit, he really loved the place. He could see himself living there for the foreseeable future. Maybe even after his year was up...

* * *

><p>Caroline was gone the following morning when Damon woke up. He found that kind of curious as she didn't tell him she was going out – he didn't know why that bothered him. He got up, got ready, had a blood bag and watched TV for a few hours and she was back around lunch time. She had bags and bags of stuff and he cocked an eyebrow at that.<p>

"Hey." She said absently when she walked in.

"You went shopping again?" He asked curiously.

"Mmhmm." She replied then started emptying the bags. Damon watched her fill the shelves of one of the cabinets in the lounge he was in with DVDs. She'd bought _hundreds _of them. DVDs of all types, horror, comedy, action, sci-fi, TV box sets – he was surprised that there wasn't a single chick flick to be seen. When she was finished she left the room and disappeared down the hall and Damon was a little confused again because she was barely speaking to him at all. He was curious so he followed her and saw her in the dining room plugging in a brand new laptop to charge it. He also saw a box with mobile broadband and he figured that was so they wouldn't have to get a line installed. "Oh, by the way." Caroline said when she saw him then handed him a packet which he looked at and was surprised to see it was a new sim card. "Just in case you wanted to snap your old one." She said while she busied herself with the laptop.

"Thanks." He said to her because he'd actually had a thought the day before knowing he'd need to get himself a new number.

"Okay, so there's a TV, movies, TV shows, a CD player – you can tell me what CDs you want and I'll get them later when I go out again, laptop, internet and I got a PS3, XBOX360 and a Wii, all with a bunch of games if you're into that." She said absently as she typed on the keypad. "There's alcohol, blood, snacks and I got a bunch of food just in case." She said. "Can you think of anything else?" She asked him and honestly, no he really couldn't.

"Why are you doing all of this?" He asked her softly and she looked at him confused.

"I told you yesterday that I'd try to keep you entertained." She reminded him. "It's only a year but a year is still a long time to be bored." She said and he nodded.

"Thank you." He said.

"It's cool." She shrugged then opened the mobile broadband box so she could set it up.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked her bluntly and she turned to look at him in confusion.

"No. Why would I be?" She asked and he saw that she really didn't see how he could think that.

"You just... you haven't been very talkative." He said and she looked surprised.

"I've been kind of busy trying to make sure you don't die, if you haven't noticed." She said dryly and he smirked at that. "Besides, you hate it when I talk too much." She pointed out and he felt _so bad_.

"I'm sorry for saying that, Caroline. I don't actually hate it, I'm just a jackass." He said to her and she was internally kind of shocked at him apologising but she didn't let that show.

"It's okay. Everyone thinks that. Doesn't bother me because I like talking a lot." She shrugged and he chuckled. "I'm going to a book store next so what kinds of books do you like to read?" She asked.

"Want me to come with you?" He asked surprising her.

"No, it's okay. I'm not only going to the book store. I still have plenty of other stuff to do." She said. "I left some paper and a pen on the hall table so write down music you like." She instructed and he realised that she wanted to be alone so he complied and went into the hall. He understood the gravity of everything she was doing for him. She'd left her home, ditched her friends, ditched her mother and her life... for _him_. He knew he owed her so much and he gathered that the control freak in her needed to be in control of the situation so that she could deal with everything and he figured the least he could do was just to let her. He wrote down a list of his favourite CDs and a bunch of books he wanted to read but didn't already have and he gave it to her on her way out.

Damon broke his sim card and put in the new one – then he realised he now had no way to contact Caroline. He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity and made a note to ask for her number as soon as she got back.

* * *

><p>Damon remembered that Caroline loved pasta carbonara so towards dinner time he made the sauce from scratch and left it on a low heat so that it would still be good when she came back. She got in just after 7pm and she found Damon watching a movie.<p>

"Hey, what smells so good?" She asked and he smirked at her.

"I made you carbonara." He said and she looked surprised then smiled.

"My favourite." She said surprised.

"I know, I remember." He said. "Want some?" He asked.

"That would be great." She smiled. Damon paused the movie then went into the kitchen and boiled the pasta while Caroline stacked the books and CDs on the shelves and took her stuff to her room. Her room was huge and had tons of wardrobe and cupboard space. By the time she was finished, Damon had served the pasta in bowls she'd bought the night before. He'd even made her a raspberry martini. She understood that he was trying to show his appreciation for everything she was doing and she thought it was sweet. She sat down across from him and they clinked glasses, toasted their new house then tucked into the food. "That's amazing." She commented on the pasta sauce and he smirked pleased that she liked it.

"You know if someone came in here they'd think we'd lived here for months with the amount of stuff you got." He teased and she chuckled.

"The place still needs redecorated but it'll do for now." She said taking a bite and he was kind of amused by that. "By the way, I went to the mayor's office earlier and got a list of all the female former criminals living nearby. Each file had pictures so I weeded out the ones who don't come under Bonnie's non-innocent category and the unattractive ones so there are about 100 hot non-innocent women living within half an hour's drive from here." She said and he looked seriously surprised.

"Are you joking?" He asked amused.

"Nope. Thought we could maybe have a pool party. I did the same with the guys for me so there couldn't be any accidents involving you." She explained.

"Why would you do that?" He asked confused.

"I'm not looking for a husband, Damon, it's just a bit of fun." She smirked and he chuckled at her cheeky expression. "So yes or no on the pool party?" She asked.

"You're just going to show up at the door and compel them to go to a pool party?" He asked amused.

"I'll compel the girls to think they're friends with me so it isn't weird and I'll compel the guys into thinking they're friends with you. Then when they get here you can hit on the girls and I'll do the same with the guys. We can get ourselves a couple of fuck buddies or something so that we don't have to constantly look for non-innocent humans." She said and he chuckled.

"You really have thought of everything, haven't you?" He asked amused.

"Yes." She nodded in agreement and he laughed a little at her agreeing.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Caroline handed Damon a folder and he opened it. It was a stack of files with pictures and he was highly amused but he spotted Caroline flipping through one as well and she took out a file now and then and made a small pile and he gathered she was choosing her guys so he figured he might as well do the same. He was surprised at how attractive some of the girls in the folder were so he picked five since Caroline said she'd picked five. She pulled on her shoes and jacket and Damon looked at her curiously.<p>

"Where are you going?" He asked her.

"To 'invite' them over for a pool party tomorrow night." She replied using air quotations and he chuckled.

"I'll come with you." He said to her.

"Alright." She shrugged. She gathered he probably wanted to get out of the house. He pulled his jacket and shoes on then she locked the door behind them when they left and she went over to her car so Damon figured she wanted to drive. He got into the passenger seat then Caroline drove away from the house after she typed in all of the addresses into her GPS. The GPS mapped it out for optimum driving time and Damon was amused by her fancy GPS system. He _really _liked the car though and was looking forward to taking it for a spin. The first person was one of the women.

Caroline pulled up at her house then went up and knocked on her door. She opened the door and Caroline compelled her to find out if she was guilty of what she'd done time for then when she admitted it, Caroline compelled her to think they were good friends then Caroline invited her to the pool party the following evening and the woman, Debbie, agreed to be there with a smile. Caroline went back to the car then set off for the next address. It took almost two hours to visit all ten people and Damon compelled the guys instead of Caroline since they were supposed to be _his _friends so it wouldn't be weird for them just going to a stranger's house for a party. After the last person was invited, Damon asked to drive so Caroline let him then he drove them back to the house.

"I love this car." Damon commented after he parked and Caroline chuckled.

"It really drives well, huh?" She agreed and he nodded.

"Definitely." He said. "Good choice." He smiled and she couldn't help giving him a smile back. "So are you coming in to chill out for a bit or is there more crazy shopping you have to do?" He asked her with a smirk and she was kind of surprised that he'd want to spend time with her.

"Well, I have to plan the party so the shopping will have to wait until tomorrow." She said and he chuckled as the two of them got out of the car.

"You're going to _plan _it?" He asked amused.

"Just because it's a bunch of ex-cons coming to it, doesn't mean it can be crap." She said and he laughed.

"So am I getting roped into decorating?" He asked with a smirk.

"No, of course not." She replied and he looked at her amused for her response.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I learned a long time ago that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself so I always do everything." She replied and he chuckled.

"As true as that is, you can let me know if you want help." He said to her sincerely as they walked through the door and Caroline thought it was nice that he was offering to let her boss him around so that she wouldn't have to do everything.

"You know way more about alcohol than I do so why don't you come up with some kind of tasty booze addled punch." She suggested and he smirked.

"Consider it done." He winked at her and she giggled at his cheeky expression. "But first, go relax and I'll make you a cocktail. You've been running around non-stop all day." He said and she looked kind of surprised.

"Okay." She smiled. "Want to watch a movie or something?" She asked.

"Sure." He nodded.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Whatever." He shrugged then went into the library to make their drinks and Caroline went into the living room. She looked over the DVDs she's bought and put on 'Wild Things' because she loved a good black comedy and it was meant to be good...

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><p>Review?<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: I'm trying to catch up on all of my stories, hope you enjoy :)

* * *

><p>The End<p>

Chapter 4

* * *

><p>Damon woke up the following morning because he'd heard a noise. He looked at his phone and saw that it was 7.06am. He reluctantly got out of his super comfy bed and wandered through the house until he reached the living room – where his jaw dropped. He saw the living room <em>full <em>of shopping bags and he felt highly confused. He wondered where the hell Caroline would have found a shop open so early in the morning. He followed the soft sounds he heard to the pool and his jaw dropped again.

He watched Caroline as she put up fairy lights along the ceiling. She'd already set up a couple of seating areas. She'd set up a bar, tables and the whole pool was surrounded by non-slip mats and he figured that was because there were going to be drunk people around the pool. She was on a ladder and he saw that she was pushing nails into the wall to hold the lights up with her finger tips as her vampire strength allowed her to do that. He saw her concentrating and she obviously hadn't heard him come in.

"Caroline?" Damon called curiously and she shrieked in surprise at his sudden appearance and lost her footing then fell off the ladder. Damon was glad he'd been paying attention as he blurred forward and caught her bridal style before she landed and she blinked in surprise that he'd caught her. He smirked at her amused.

"Thanks." She said embarrassed and he chuckled as he set her back on her feet.

"Didn't mean to scare you." He said and she laughed a little.

"Well, that was a déjà vu." She smirked and he looked at her confused then he remembered it was the first thing he'd ever said to her.

"Yeah, but this time I mean it." He admitted and she looked at him curiously for that comment.

"What are you doing up so early?" She queried.

"I could ask you the same thing, you know. What time did you get up?" He asked sceptically.

"I haven't been to bed yet." She disclosed and he looked at her shocked.

"You've been up all night doing this stuff?" He asked in disbelief.

"Not only this stuff. I found out about a 24 hour mall, so I went there and did some shopping and I did some research online. I'll go for a power nap when I'm done." She answered.

"Why don't I do something?" He offered and she shrugged.

"That's okay. I love doing this stuff anyway." She ignored his offer.

"Wait – what research online?" He pushed with curiosity.

"It occurred to me that movies, girls, books and videogames probably wouldn't be enough entertainment for you to last a whole year and it definitely isn't enough for me, so I looked into working from home jobs and home study." Caroline replied and he chuckled.

"Jobs? Like what?" He questioned amused.

"There are tons of different things you might like. There's a Pennsylvania car magazine called 'Auto Spectacular' and they're looking for a test reviewer." She responded and he cocked his head to the side.

"What would that entail?" He examined.

"They would deliver a car to you once a week, you keep the car for the week and test drive it then you write a detailed review of your experience with the car then the magazine publishes it." Caroline described and he looked surprised.

"That sounds kind of cool." He agreed.

"It would also get you out of the house in a non-trouble way." Caroline added and he chuckled. He was starting to really like her neuroticism as she always thought of _everything_.

"I like it." He replied and she smiled.

"The same magazine company also have a fine dining magazine and they have an alcohol section for the same purpose for up and coming brands or new drinks. It's the same principal, they deliver booze, you drink it then write what you thought about it." She said and he smirked.

"I like that too." He agreed amused.

"It's quite a new company, so they're looking for a lot of test reviewers for a lot of different things. I'm going to compel myself a position this afternoon." She smirked and he chuckled.

"What are you reviewing?" He enquired.

"Fashion." She grinned and he laughed. He wasn't surprised. "Free clothes, shoes and accessories. Who's going to argue with that?" She teased and he snickered.

"What else did you find?" He asked inquisitively.

"I'm going to take a couple of classes at the college, I think, but there are home degrees if you'd want to do something like that just to pass the time." She shrugged. "Figured you might need some intellectual stimulus." She said and he smirked at her.

"I like the home degree thing too." He agreed. "You seem to have absolutely everything covered."

"Well, you can let me know if you think of anything else." She shrugged.

"I don't think that there _is _anything else." He replied amused and she tittered.

"Anyway, break's over. Why don't you go back to sleep? I'm almost done anyway." She suggested kindly.

"I'm not tired anymore. Give me something to _do_." He pestered.

"I left the laptop open to the home university courses if you want to go browse through them." She offered.

"Caroline." He said seriously and she sighed.

"Fine... why don't you... unpack the shopping bags that I left out? Saves me doing it when I'm done then I'll have time for a nap." She compromised.

"That's it?" He asked sceptically.

"There isn't really all that much left to do now until this afternoon." She shrugged.

"Caroline, go sleep. I'll finish putting up the lights and put away the bags. You look exhausted." He said seriously.

"It's fine..."

"Go sleep." He interjected, his tone a little softer. "When do you want woken up?" He asked her and she shot him an annoyed look.

"Damon, I'm nearly done..."

"Do you always argue so much?" He smirked.

"Fine, but follow the line because I'll inspect it later." She instructed in her bossy tone and he chuckled.

"It'll be perfect." He promised and she looked at him sceptically.

"Fine, get me up at... 10am." She said.

"2pm." He countered.

"11am." She said and he chuckled.

"1pm." He argued amused and she shot him a look.

"11.30am." She said curtly and he smirked.

"Noon and not a minute earlier." He replied and she sighed.

"Fine." She said annoyed and he chuckled at her cute little annoyed face.

"Night night." He teased and she rolled her eyes then walked past him though he did catch her muttering 'and you think _I'm_ annoying' under her breath and he was highly amused.

* * *

><p>Damon finished the lights then he started on the bags. He saw she'd bought tons of snacks, drinks, hard plastic tumblers and plates, he saw large decorative light up stones and he figured they were for the corners in the pool room. She'd even bought weighted light up squares that were for the bottom of the pool. He chuckled a little at that and thought that she really <em>had <em>thought of _everything_. He was actually looking forward to the little pool party she was planning, but it wasn't because there would be chicks coming, it was because he thought Caroline might finally relax and enjoy herself and he _wanted _to spend time with her.

Damon saw that he'd let his own idiocy overlook everything that was so great about her. He hadn't _wanted _to know any of them in Mystic Falls but he was now seeing that it had been a huge mistake. Caroline was so nice and fun and quirky and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to spend time with her. He'd been so sure that she was annoying and dense... but she wasn't remotely annoying and her attention to detail and her quick thinking proved she was probably more intelligent than _him _and he knew he owed her a real apology. All of it was _his _fault and he needed her to know that.

* * *

><p>He left it until 1pm anyway because he thought that she deserved a little sleep. She'd been working so hard doing <em>everything<em>. He didn't know how he would ever be able to repay her. He wandered into her room and saw her fast asleep. She was so beautiful, he thought. He perched on the side of her bed that she was facing and her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey." She yawned and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Breakfast?" He offered with a smirk holding up a glass of blood and she smiled softly then sat up against the headboard and he handed it to her.

"Thanks." She replied then took a sip. "What time is it?"

"1pm." He smirked and she shot him an annoyed look.

"We agreed on noon." She reminded him and he chuckled.

"Yeah, but I sunk the pool lights, put out the plates and glasses you bought, put the stones in the pool room and put out the snacks and drinks already, so you don't have to do that." He replied and she looked surprised then she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"There were five pool light slabs, three blue and two red, did you alternate the colours?" She asked him and he chuckled.

"Yes." He nodded.

"In what configuration?" She probed and he chuckled – he really liked bossy Caroline.

"Perfectly centred down the middle." He replied and she looked at him for a moment.

"We'll see." She remarked and he laughed.

"You're quite the little perfectionist, aren't you?" He teased and she chuckled humourlessly.

"Perfectionist. That's a new one. Everyone else calls it neurotic, controlling, bossy and irritating. Why'd you bother with the slabs? Does it remotely matter to you?" She questioned sceptically and he shrugged.

"Not really, but I know that stuff is important to you." He replied and she looked at him confused for saying something nice. "I read over that stuff you left open for me on the laptop." He informed her and she nodded.

"Find anything you want to do?" She examined.

"Yeah, the car and alcohol review thing and I found a home degree that sounds kind of interesting." He replied and she smiled surprised.

"What subject?" She asked curiously.

"Computer programming and web design. I don't know anything about that stuff at _all_." He admitted and she chuckled. "What are you going to do at the college?"

"Biomedical science." She replied surprising him.

"Why?" He asked curiously.

"I like science and it'll come in handy to know more about the human body." She shrugged. "We'll have to get you a high tech computer if you're doing that. The laptop I got isn't all that amazing."

"Do you know anything about that stuff?" He smirked and she giggled.

"Yeah, unlike you, I grew up with computers. Everyone my age knows plenty about them." She teased and he chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I'll read over what it is you'll be doing and I'll have a look online and see what kind of computer will be best for that."

"Speaking of that, you'll have to tell me how much money I owe you. You've done all of the shopping." He pointed out and she looked at him confused.

"It's not _my _money. It's Katherine's and since she's dead she doesn't need it." Caroline countered.

"Still." Damon replied.

"If anyone deserves the money, it's you. She screwed you over way more than me." Caroline noted and Damon looked surprised that she felt that way.

"Thought that we were doing that whole 'letting go of the past' thing?" He smirked and she giggled in surprise.

"Alright. In that case, our wealthy pal Kathy left us the money in her will when she died, so it's still joint funds." She teased and he laughed at the cute little vampire.

"I have plenty of money. I don't need it." He said and she shrugged.

"Do you always argue so much?" She repeated his words back to him and he chuckled.

"Are you going to take no for an answer?" He asked amused and she grinned.

"Nope." She replied and he smirked. Caroline finished her glass of blood then licked her lips. "Tastes better knowing that it's from bad people." She remarked and he shot her an entertained look.

"Think so?" He asked amused and she nodded.

"It's probably just psychological." She sighed. "Anyway. Have to get up. Things to do." She said rolling back the cover and Damon gulped knowing he needed to say it.

"Wait." He bid and she looked at him curiously.

"What?" She asked.

"I… uh… wanted to talk to you about something." Damon said and she sighed.

"Can we just not?" She asked knowing what he wanted to talk about and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because we're starting fresh remember?" She pointed out.

"But…"

"No." She cut him off. "You aren't that person anymore. Neither am I. So… just… get over it." She said and his jaw dropped that she wanted _him _to get over what he did to _her_.

"Fine, but I need you to know something." He pushed and she sighed again.

"What?" She asked.

"I didn't want to get to know anyone in Mystic Falls, so I formed opinions with no foundation. I just wanted to tell you that I never meant any of the things I said to you, I was just trying to make you hate me." Damon explained and she was surprised that he hadn't meant them. "I'm really sorry." He said sincerely and she nodded.

"You're forgiven." She said in reply and he was surprised that she could let go of it so easily. "Now, can we just be friends and stop with the crap?" She asked and he smirked.

"Yes." He replied.

"Good." She nodded. "I think I'm going to make some pancakes. Want some?"

"Mmhmm." He accepted.

* * *

><p>Damon woke up the following morning with a throbbing headache. He moved his head slightly and he noticed that there were two naked women in his bed and the events of the night before flooded back to him and he smirked – what a party! He'd had brilliant fun surprisingly. Especially with Caroline. They'd all been seriously drunk by the end of the evening, they'd danced, they'd had several swims, drinking games were played and he got along surprisingly well with two of the guys Caroline had picked as they had things in common. It was also refreshing knowing that none of them were innocents as Damon always felt like a monster around innocents. It was nice to not feel like that for a night. Damon really wanted a repeat of the evening as he'd had a blast.<p>

He carefully manoeuvred himself out of the bed, pulled his boxers on then wandered out of his room. He heard a noise from the pool room and followed it only to find Caroline clearing up.

"Morning." He greeted and she turned to look at him with a smile.

"I don't know about you, but I had a blast last night." She said and he flashed her a grin.

"So did I." He agreed and she looked pleased at that. "Want help?" He offered.

"You can do the kitchen if you want. Not much else to do in here." She remarked and he surveyed it and saw that she had a point as she was nearly done.

"Alright." He agreed. Damon wandered out of the pool and went down the hall to the kitchen and saw plenty of bottles all over the countertops. He grabbed a garbage bag and put the empty bottles in it along with empty snack packs and any other rubbish he found that was to go. Minutes later, Caroline came in and Damon was nearly done. "Any idea how many of them crashed here?" Damon asked her amused and she giggled.

"Two of them hooked up in the spare room near the library, so it's just them and whoever's in your room." She replied amused and he chuckled.

"I see why you planned it now. It was really fun." He commented and she smiled.

"So, can we do it again next weekend?" She grinned and he chuckled.

"Mmhmm." He nodded. "Same people or are you going to go through that little file again?" He asked amused and she smirked.

"Well, I'm not inviting that Craig guy but the other guys were nice, so I'll find another one to replace him." Caroline replied and he snickered.

"Which one was Craig?" He queried.

"The one in the blue Hawaiian swim trunks." She said and he nodded remembering.

"He was a bit of a douche." Damon agreed. "Why? What did he do that makes you not want him invited?" He asked amused and she snickered.

"He was crap in bed." Caroline replied and Damon laughed in surprise – he hadn't known that she hooked up with anyone.

"That's funny." He replied amused.

"Funny for _you_." She quipped and he chuckled. "Talk about a one minute man." She muttered and he laughed loudly at that.

"It'll be more difficult for you because you're a vampire." Damon replied and she looked at him curiously.

"Why?" She tested.

"Female vampires find reaching sexual satisfaction much more difficult than male vampires do." Damon explained and her jaw dropped.

"Are you _joking_?" She asked in disbelief and he chuckled at how horrified she looked.

"No." He replied amused. "That's why a lot of female vampires take on multiples or have several lovers, because human men haven't got a hope in hell of single-handedly satisfying a female vampire." He explained and she scowled at nothing in particular.

"Hmm." She replied.

"Hmm?" He asked amused.

"You had a threesome, right?" She asked and he nodded amused, not sure where she was going with it. "Does that make a difference?" She asked and he nodded again. "Is it weird?"

"Having a threesome?" He tested and she nodded. "I think it depends on what kind of threesome it is. If it's two girls, it's not as weird because women who _would _have a threesome tend not to be that bothered about doing anything with another girl. But if it's two guys, it can be awkward if only the girl is the focus." He explained and she thought about that.

"So, if it's two guys then it's better if they're willing to do things to each other as well?" She asked and he nodded.

"Makes it less awkward." He confirmed.

"And if it was me and another girl with a guy, it would be better if I was comfortable with the girl being there?" She asked and he nodded. "Hmm." She hummed and he chuckled.

"Are you thinking about that now?" He asked amused and she nodded.

"Going without is better than getting laid and not getting anything from it. That's just _extra _frustrating." She muttered and he smirked.

"If you're going to go there, just get really drunk first. Makes things less awkward." He advised.

"I'd have to be drunk to do that anyway." She agreed.

"You do have another option, you know." Damon smirked and she looked at him sceptically.

"Wouldn't that be weird?" She asked and he snickered.

"We've slept together before." He pointed out and she bit her lip – she remembered that he was _fantastic _in bed and after her crummy experience the night before, she needed a little _fantastic_.

"I'll think about it." She said and he chuckled.

"You do that." He said amused. "What do you want to do today?" He asked and she thought about it then looked at him amused.

"Feel like breaking in the tennis court?" She grinned and he laughed in disbelief.

"You want to play _tennis_?" He asked amused and she shrugged.

"It's pretentious enough that we _have _a tennis court. If we don't use it, that's just worse." She quipped and he sniggered.

"We also have an ice cream bar. I don't see you wanting to use that." He bantered and she laughed.

"Don't kid yourself. I bought all of the ingredients needed to make homemade ice cream for the ice cream machine." She quipped and he shook with laughter.

"I should have known." He smirked.

"So, how about it, Salvatore? Want to play tennis then make ice cream with me?" She beamed and he chuckled at her cute little expression.

"Why not?" He asked amused and she grinned.

"Excellent. I even bought us tennis outfits." She revealed and he chortled in disbelief.

"You did _what_?" He laughed.

"I knew that I'd talk you into it eventually." She winked and he chuckled and rolled his eyes…

* * *

><p>AN: Hope you liked the chapter, let me know :)


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